Looks good.

Off topic, are your glasses available on your website yet? They seem like they might have some potential.

---

Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
DarkSpeedWorks.com.....Reviews.....Insta.....Facebook
--

If this is done to your shoe, how do you replace worn cleats?

Hi,

The 40 sec per hour saving - what shoe/cleat combination is that compared to?

Thanks

Hello DarkSpeedWorks and All,

Thanks ...

Apologies - hope to get the website updated in the next week or two ................. we are pedaling as fast as we can.

........... When we do we will add some new products.

A quick note .... the glasses are nominally worth about 3 minutes per hour depending on your existing head position .... on a 6 hour Ironman that is 18 minutes faster ....... but now if you are wearing the glasses the 4 minutes you saved with the shoes is actually less because you are faster ........ so you have to iterate the time saved at 20 mph in the wind tunnel for each device to reflect the summation of time saved for various aero improvements in your overall aero bicycle system ..... in other words the time saved for each device is not directly summed with other devices since the speed is increasing and the devices were only tested at one speed (but several different yaw angles).



Cheers,

Neal

+1 mph Faster

Hello Russ Brandt and All,

When I first put the sole on my shoe I did not think about that ............. but then my cleat spring wore out.

We remove part of the rubber sole, not all of it, and replace the cleat, reattach the rubber sole.

The cost will be less than the original application of the sole.

My original cleats were X cleats and they lasted about 3 years - but I used a regular shoe sometimes for training.

Now that I have switched to Zeros I expect the cleats will last longer.

Cheers,

Neal

+1 mph Faster

Hello Shg101 and All,



"The 40 sec per hour saving - what shoe/cleat combination is that compared to?"

The shoe to the far left and the one next to it with the Aero conversion (shoe #1 and #2 ... both Aero) compared to shoe #5 from left side - same shoe with the standard cleat although at the time of the test I was using X pedals and cleats rather than Zeros.

We did a quick shoe swap in the wind tunnel ..... results reported are for a pair of the shoes ..... the takeaway being that the conversion aero gain works for both 3 and 4 bolt mounted cleats.


Cheers,

Neal

+1 mph Faster

Did you smear Sugru on the bottom of your shoes?

http://www.sugru.com

---

I talk a lot - Give it a listen: http://www.fasttalklabs.com/category/fast-talk
I also give Training Advice via http://www.ForeverEndurance.com

The above poster has eschewed traditional employment and is currently undertaking the ill-conceived task of launching his own hardgoods company. Statements are not made on behalf of nor reflective of anything in any manner... unless they're good, then they count.
http://www.AGNCYINNOVATION.com

Another great looking product.

Do you have any plans to test these shoes in Coggan's mini wind tunnel?

Nice concept, but I know Lamson now D2 did the same thing back for project 96. I'd be surprised if the patent were to get approved due to prior use.

---

---

Heath Dotson
HD Coaching:Website |Twitter: 140 Characters or Less|Facebook:Follow us on Facebook

Hello nealhe and all ;)

Please don't take this in a negative way, it's intended to be constructive.

All those photos are of prototypes right? I'd be a lttle miffed if I spent $163 and my shoes came back looking like that.

Hello ……

xtrpickels If the sugru is soft and wears well it would be great for ‘do it your selfers’ …. thanks for posting …. I can think of projects where I could use that stuff too.


Nick_Barkley Thanks …. I am not aware of Coggan’s wind tunnel and we have already tested the shoes. Where is the mini wind tunnel located and how do you arrange to use it? Is it Andy Coggan’s? 40 seconds is not so easy to tease out without a very good balance scale. I really liked the New York guy’s project that tested the helmets some time back with a balance and a room fan.

Ex-cyclist Thanks ….. my patent attorney will have to check that …… he did the patent search for me some years ago …. but I will ask him …. if it was prior art and is already expired not a problem ………. I do the patents partially so as not to step on anyone’s toes. It is always surprising to see how often several people arrive at the same ideas in the search for solutions.


atomic916 No worries …. it’s all good ….. and we will take that in a positive way and try to make them look better ……….. but for now ………… what you see is what you get ….. we might get a bit better looking with more experience but that’s what they look like now. Remember the sole is on the bottom and you probably don’t spend a lot of time looking at your shoe sole ….. function is the name of the game here. And like the blind date line – ‘they look much better in person.’


Cheers,



Neal



+1 mph Faster

Here's a link for you.

http://www.d2shoe.com/history.html

---

---

Heath Dotson
HD Coaching:Website |Twitter: 140 Characters or Less|Facebook:Follow us on Facebook

Hello Ex-cyclist and All,

I will check it out ...

Thanks for posting.

Cheers,

Neal

+1 mph Faster

Wow. I assume float screws on the speedplay cleats are obviously no longer adjustable after this is done?

---

---

Ryan Borger - Denver, CO: Realtor. Former pro triathlete/coach. Cancer survivor. podiumproperties.com

Hello borgerendurance and All,


Good question ............

For myself, I have found that I 'set and forget' the float setting.

Should you want to make periodic adjustments to the float after applying the soles it would require minor surgery to the rubber soles to open access to the adjustment screws.
Sounds like a proper task for da Vinci robotic surgery ........ :) makes me wonder how da Vincis might be used for mechanical rather than human applications.

I had a chance to play with a da Vinci at a vendor's display when our new hospital opened in Escondido ..... seemed very intuitive and easy to learn .... send me in Bones!

A good procedure prior to buying the View-Speed Aero Shoe conversion would be to ride your shoe/pedal system for a while to (a) get the cleat placement fore and aft to where you like it and shiming for tilt as required (b) get the cleat release pressure set to your liking, and (c) and if you have the Speedplay Zero cleat – adjust the float to your liking.

Only after riding the system for enough time to make sure the adjustments are comfortable should you send your shoes to View-Speed for the addition of the rubber sole. (If you have the Speedplay X series pedal it does not have a float adjustment.)



Cheers,

Neal

+1 mph Faster

Funny. I was just checking your web site last night for the skewers. Did you happen to test those? I figure you need something like LSWT to measure the savings for those (though every little bit helps).

Speaking of skewers. Are both models available?

Hello grumpier.mike and All,

We did not test the skewers in the wind tunnel ..... the about 1 Watt estimate is based on a frontal area comparison with a standard quick release.

I have corresponded with Andy Coggan about some testing (but not the skewers or shoes) in his mini wind tunnel and he is too busy right now but said he will let me know when the load eases up.



Andy Coggan, 1999 USA Masters TT Nationals

Thanks for your interest in View-Speed products.

I need to update the website for the skewers and our other new products and have plans to do so over the next couple of weeks.

We have 2 models of skewers in stock.

The S3 series that works on most all road bicycles and comes in black oxide color or natural silver color and also you can paint the exposed part to a color of your choice.

The S4 series that is a bit lighter and more aero but puts about 2 mm of material into the fork or dropout slot to reduce the head profile and requires fork tine or dropout thickness of ¼ inch (6.35mm) or more. This model works on Cervélo bicycles like my P3C and many others – but you do need to measure since Specialized (and possibly some others) forks and dropouts are thinner than ¼ inch and use the S3 series.

I have a Cervélo P3C and the S4’s work great on my bike.

After a few rides so that you know that the skewer is set OK you can cut off the excess screw with a saw (or have it done at your local bike shop) being sure that all threads on the nut are engaged. Do not cut it too short. Keep in mind that different bicycle fork tine thickness varies and when you cut the skewer to fit a particular bicycle it may not fit another bicycle.

The side with the hex drive has a clock code line so you can easily preflight that it has not moved since the last ride.

I find mine are very snug at 4 to 5 NM ….. 6 NM max torque ……. Failure torque in material tests was 16 NM.

The price for pair S4 front and rear skewer is $78 ($68.64 for ST forum members) + $6 shipping + 8% tax when shipped to Calif. address.

The price for pair S3 front and rear skewer is $68 ($59.84 for ST forum members) + $6 shipping + 8% tax when shipped to Calif. address.

Send via PayPal to paypal@view-speed.com with your shipping address and away you go. (Or if you do not have PayPal we take MC and Visa.)


Cheers,


Neal


+1 mph Faster

HI Neal,

Just an FYI. TriRig has a new skewer review posted and the S3s are listed, along with many others.

P.S. I sent a payment for a set of the S3's

Hello Ex-cyclist and All,

Getting back to you on patent question ...........

Thanks for the post as you never know when a patent search was not broad enough.

My patent attorney advised me that Don Lamson filed and received two bicycle shoe patents: Number 5,086,576 and number Des. 342,369 both expired, and neither were about the aero shoe.


Cheers,

Neal

+1 mph Faster

What exactly are you patenting here? You are modifying an existing product. But after seeing the result and letting us know it is rubber, it is something that should be able to be easily replicated in most people's garage. I'm not trying to bust your chops here, just trying to understand what the patent will be for since this is not a unique idea, and enforcing it would be tricky and very costly.

---

---

Heath Dotson
HD Coaching:Website |Twitter: 140 Characters or Less|Facebook:Follow us on Facebook

Hello Ex-cyclist and All,

I have slept at the Holiday Inn and have a bit of legal experience .............. but I am not a patent attorney .... so the following is not legal advice.

Many existing products are modified - airplanes, boats, shoes, sunglasses, drugs, weapons, etc. and the modifications .... if they meet patent requirements .... can be patented as a design patent or utility patent. For instance I worked for the inventor that patented the soft ice cream valve that mixes chocolate and vanilla when there were lots of ice cream valves .... but not one like that.

If I recall correctly Dairy Queen paid royalties to him for that invention.

Many products can be copied and built in your garage shop .... and it is my understanding that you can do that legally .... the patent protection comes into play when the items are sold.

I was surprised to learn that the Wright Brothers did not invent the first airplane or make the first successful flight.

"In a startling announcement a few days ago, Jane's All the World's Aircraft has named an August 1901 flight by Connecticut aviation pioneer Gustave Whitehead as the first successful powered flight in history, beating the Wright Brothers by more than two years. Jane's, which calls itself the world's foremost authority on aviation history, with great authority, has traditionally backed the Wrights as first in flight. Now they say the evidence for Whitehead's flight is strong enough for the publication to reverse course and recognize it as the first successful powered flight."

It is important to note .......... as stated before ........... when selling a new product ......... a patent search is valuable so that you know you are not stepping on someone's toes.

As to enforcing a patent ............ I will leave that to my patent attorney.

All of which is of course not of much import to the end user ....... being more interested in ...... Safety Comfort and Speed ......... and the View-Speed Aero Shoe conversion aims to please.



Cheers,

Neal

+1 mph Faster

I would be more worried about Speedplay bringing suit or a cease operations letter. They have a pretty poor internet reputation for being very aggressive regarding aftermarket offerings for their pedals. They have shut down people who package rebuild kits (using standard size bearings and other standard hardware) for their pedals and pressured forum moderators to remove threads dealing with modifications. Kindda douchey zealousness.

Just came across this thread. Anyone here have any real world experience with this or any similar concept?

Hello Dangs and All,

Thanks .......

An update .... we have sold very few of the shoe mods ...

I think the order process takes too long for most .... and you do not see the bottom aero view of your bike setup ....

Out of sight ..... out of mind .....

Perhaps what we need is do it yourself sole 'streamliner' that you can order with peel and sticky backing for quicker and less expensive implementation.

---

Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster